


Not Everything

by Mishafied



Category: Warcraft (2016)
Genre: Karazhan, LionTrust, M/M, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-22
Updated: 2016-06-22
Packaged: 2018-07-16 14:26:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7271881
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mishafied/pseuds/Mishafied
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Khadgar didn’t have the strength for this. It was too much. He felt as if his body was under a crushing weight, flames still searing his skin, and all he had to do to stop it was give in. All he had to do was take the offer of unbridled power, thousands of years of knowledge, and this would all stop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Everything

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick introspective I threw together, based on what may have been going on in Khadgar's mind when he was fighting the demon in Medivh's tower.
> 
> Also, an informal audition for anyone who may want a Khadgar to RP with; if you're interested in some LionTrust RP, aren't a minor, and like my style, toss me an email at kstkeith@gmail.com.

He meant to step back out of the portal the moment the golem stepped in. But when he heard the panic in Lothar’s voice and saw the thick clay foot stamp down in the swirling runes, he released all the energy he’d built up in an instant, hoping it was enough. That he’d acted before Medivh got to Lothar.

 

There was a split second sensation of falling, and then power surged through his veins like water through a breaking dam.

 

Not the clean blue light of arcane magic, no; this power felt like flames licking across every inch of his skin, inside and out, flaying and cauterizing all at once. He tried to breathe, but all he could drag into his lungs was the green fire that burned like acrid smoke.

 

**_You feel it, don’t you, little mage? So much power, all yours for the taking._ **

****

The voice was like the rumbling of a volcano, like a tremor of the earth below him, vibrating his bones and leaving him weak. He gasped for air, resisting the urge to seize hold of that power and _use_ it- it would be so easy, the pain and confusion would all _stop_ -

 

**_That’s it. All the knowledge of hundreds of worlds, and it can be yours if you just let it in, young Guardian. I can give it to you._ **

****

Khadgar lifted his head in time to see Lothar knelt beside the pool, reaching out to him- and then the instant change in his expression to one of fear as he pulled back the offered hand.

 

Lothar was _afraid_ of him.

 

**_As well he should be. You are filled with my power; you are as much a creature of the fel as Medivh,_** the voice insisted, as painful as thunder inside his skull. Khadgar felt the power in him surge, demanding that he take life in order to fuel it, the pull that of finding a clear lake after weeks in the desert.

 

**_His soul is so strong. His strength could be yours._ **

****

_No. No!_

A surge of protectiveness rose up in him, and he flung out his hand toward Lothar, arcane light springing up around him to shield him from what Khadgar was about to do. This much fel magic couldn’t remain here, not in him, not in Medivh- and he knew of only one way to rid of it.

 

He didn’t know if he could do it. He didn’t know if he would survive it, even if he could.

 

**_You are a fool. Look at what I can give to you._ **

****

Khadgar nearly buckled as his brain flooded with imagery and words that he couldn’t make sense of, the knowledge of hundreds of worlds coursing through his mind like surging rapids. Archimonde, Draenei, Velen, Sargeras, thousands of words, hundreds of languages, creatures that would never exist on Azeroth- it took all his strength to fight to his feet and reach for the quickly dimming light in his own soul, directing that light down at the trapped demon’s forehead.

 

**_I can give you all of this knowledge. I can give you the greatest of powers, beyond Medivh, beyond Gul’dan, beyond anything you could ever hope for. I can give you everything you’ve ever wanted!_ **

****

Khadgar didn’t have the strength for this. It was too much. He felt as if his body was under a crushing weight, flames still searing his skin, and all he had to do to stop it was give in. All he had to do was take the offer of unbridled power, thousands of years of knowledge, and this would all stop.

 

Then, he thought of his friends. Taria, Llane, Garona, Callan, the hope in their eyes even when all had seemed lost.

 

He thought of Medivh, trapped inside this corrupting power, wasting away.

 

He thought of Lothar.

 

_Everything I ever wanted_? he thought, and he felt a wave of smug pleasure from the demon.

 

**_Everything, little spellchucker,_ ** the demon replied, and Khadgar tensed with fury.

 

_Then I want you dead._

The demon roared in fury and agony as Khadgar pulled from the stifled light inside him, and Khadgar faltered, the blue glow in his eyes fading.

 

“You’re stronger than him!” he heard Lothar call out from behind the barrier, and Khadgar clung to the words like a lifeline, the arcane glow in his eyes intensifying again as he fought back the demon and reached out with his magic. He took hold of the fel, but not in the way the demon wanted- not to use it, but to contain it.

 

**_Do you really think you can defeat me, human?!_ **

 

Khadgar ignored the demon’s question. He had to focus. If he didn’t do this right, he could kill both himself and Lothar- and Lothar, at least, needed to survive this.

 

Alodi’s words rang clear in his head, and suddenly, he understood.

 

“From light comes darkness-“’

 

He used the shadows from the light of his own powers to gather the fel as it scattered, keeping hold of it even when he felt like his skin would burn away and his heart beat out of his chest. Just a little longer.

 

The demon’s pained and angry cries tore through his head as he began to focus all of his power down, down into one point, small and so unstable that his very soul ached with it.

 

“And from darkness…light!”

 

He let go, and the world went gold, then white.

 

For what seemed like forever, there was nothing but the ringing in his ears and the vicious ache through his body as his vision cleared. He found himself on his hands and knees in the dry font, once again gasping for air- but this time, the air was clean. It no longer burned like demonic fire, no longer tasted like smoke-

 

And the only presence in his head was his own.

 

He’d done it.

 

A hand grasped his shoulder tightly, steadying him as he coughed out the lingering taste of smoke and tried to catch his breath. “Show me your eyes,” he heard Lothar say, and it was a moment before Khadgar found the strength to raise his head.

 

The sheer relief in Lothar’s eyes was enough to tell Khadgar that there was no trace of the fel in his own.

 

The demon had been wrong; he’d said he could give Khadgar anything he’d ever wanted- but he couldn’t have given Khadgar this moment, when the words “I’m proud of you” from Lothar meant more than any praise or formal accolade he’d ever received.

 

He smiled then, despite the exhaustion, despite the sorrow- because everything was going to be alright.


End file.
